ANNOUNCEMENT — Members of the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation gathered Wednesday at Brooke Hills Park to announce Hartzel Brady of Follansbee will be honored at this year’s Brooke County Veteran of the Year. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — After a two-year hiatus spurred by the pandemic, members of the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation are happy to announce their annual dinner-dance will return May 7 to the Wellsburg Banquet Hall and they will again be honoring a local military veteran.

Recipient of the group’s Veteran of the Year award will be Hartzel Brady of Follansbee, who served in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1968.

For his service abroad, Brady was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Veteran Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

The group noted Brady has worked to help and honor fellow veterans as a member of the Vietnam Veteran Support Group and the Ohio Valley Veterans Memorial Squad.

As finance officer and member of the latter group for 15 years, Brady has joined others in presenting military honors at the funerals of many area veterans and delivering rifle salutes at local Memorial Day and Veterans Day services.

He also is a member of Follansbee American Legion Post 45, serving as commander, vice commander and recording secretary; the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans.

Brady will be presented the award at the dinner-dance, which will include food provided by the staff of St. Francis Centre and music by Easy Street.

Doors will open at 6 p.m., with dinner to be served at 7 p.m. and the dance to be held from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

There also will be a 50-50 drawing and door prizes.

Tickets are $35 each, and reservations should be made no later than Monday by calling (304) 737-1236.

Serving as sponsors for the event are Reasner Funeral Home and Chambers and James Funeral Homes.

“We’re very excited about coming back,” said Janice McFadden, who heads the foundation and is manager of Brooke Hills Park, home to the memorial to Brooke County residents who died while serving in the military and those declared missing in action.

McFadden noted the event was begun in 2009, with the first Veteran of the Year honor going to the late John Chernenko, a former World War II veteran who supported the memorial’s development and helped fellow prisoners of war and other veterans.

Fellow foundation member Donna Sullivan noted the dinner-dance will be followed soon after with the foundation’s Memorial Day service.

It will be held at 1 p.m. May 30 at The Foundry, formerly known as Brooke Hills Free Methodist Church.

On such occasions in recent years, the group has recognized local families with multiple siblings who were veterans.

This year, the Boni and Salatino families will be acknowledged.